Cora, Goddess of Spring

"I'm flattered, Mr. Hartford, but first, I'm not a professional dancer. I'm a teacher, and second, I think it's very rude of you to ask me and not us, as a couple. My fiancé would have as much to say about my decision as I would. Luckily, I know just how he feels, the answer is no thank you."

Hartford looked at me then back at Cora, "Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. Listen," he said, looking back at me, "I hear you're very good so let me make you both an offer. You could both join the tour and stay together. Think about it.

"Well, break a leg out there, kid. Let me know if you change your minds about joining the tour." He left, I think feeling a little embarrassed.

The show was an incredible experience. It's easy to see how stars can get an overinflated ego. On a couple of songs, the audience had their phone lights on and waved them over their heads. The first time it happened, I had to struggle from getting choked up.

I played seventeen songs and got nervous at the end when I realized I went over my time limit. I didn't want to just rush off the stage because I was getting a standing ovation from a good part of the audience. I took a few bows and walked off the stage to my fiancée. She was in tears.

"Honey, listen to them. They love you," she said while trying to compose herself.

Just then one of the show organizers came over. "You got anything for an encore?"

I wasn't sure I heard him correctly. "An encore?"

"Yeah, listen to them out there; they want more. Can you do one more?"

I looked at Cora, "Would you mind if I did your song?"

She burst out in tears again. "Are you kidding? I'd be so honored, honey... "

The audience started to quiet down when I walked back on stage. I couldn't sing the song without giving a little background. "Thank you, thank you, all. You're most kind. I'd like to do one more for you. I consider it to be the most important song I've written because I wrote it for the love of my life."

Almost immediately, the phones came out again and sawed back and forth like the ebb and flow of a giant wave through the entire song. I had tears in my eyes when I was done and my voice cracked with emotion as I said my last thank you.

Both Cora and I needed to come down from our highs so we slipped back to the green room for a little while before going back out and watching Hartford's show from the wings. I'm not really into that kind of music, but he put on an incredible show. His band was astonishing.

After the show, we were invited to a party at Hartford's hotel, but I had to go get what was left of my CDs and collect my money. I was just hoping they sold some. I was still worried about paying Barry back.

I had distributed my albums between three sales booths and there were still hordes of people buying memorabilia at all of them. Cora and I had to wait off to the side until the crowds got smaller. When it started to slow down, we worked our way up to the first one. The guy in charge saw us and came over.

"Did you sell any of my CDs?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Hell yeah, it's selling great. We're still not done, are you looking to cash out already?"

"I still have an hour's drive home. I have to get going."

"Okay," he replied, "I'll tally it up and be back in a few."

While waiting I heard somebody yell above the crowd. "Hey, isn't this you?" he asked while holding up my CD. I acknowledged it was. "Will you sign my CD?"

Other than a few friends joking around from time to time, it was the first time I'd ever been asked for an autograph. "Sure," I replied. I asked someone in the booth if they had a sharpie and was handed one. While signing his, a few more gathered around with the same request. Before I knew it, I was surrounded. I was starting to get tired and was afraid the pen was going to run out of ink. The manager finally got my attention and I had to announce to a bunch of disappointed fans that I couldn't sign any more autographs. Cora and I walked around the back of the booth where the manager gave me a check for almost seven thousand dollars and the remaining CDs. It was a similar case with the other two booths.

I wound up selling a little less than three-thousand CDs that night. I was able to pay Barry back every penny he invested, put a little over eleven thousand dollars in the bank and still had a thousand CDs left. Barry suggested I take a few hundred and approach some of the local music stores to see if they'd sell them on consignment and keep the rest to sell at gigs. I wasn't getting rich, but by the time graduation rolled around, I was making a decent income doing what I loved.

Two months after getting our degrees, Cora and I were married. All of our friends were there. Cora had both Cindy and Jennifer as her maidens of honor and Scott was my best man. He shocked everyone by ending his toast to Cora and me by proposing to Heather, and of course, she said yes. It was also the first time our parents met each other. I couldn't believe how quickly they took to one another. Within minutes, they were all laughing and socializing like they'd known each other all their lives.

After a ten-day honeymoon in the Virgin Islands, Cora and I rented a small home in suburbia. I turned one of the bedrooms into a music room where I wrote and played new songs. What we really liked was the large backyard where we could have our friends over for barbecues. Due to the teacher shortage, Cora got a job teaching fourth grade in no time.

Cora loves teaching, and slowly but surely, more opportunities keep coming my way. With my wife's encouragement, it won't be long before I have my own label and start producing. I've also sold a couple of songs. Gil Hartford wanted to buy "Goddess of Spring" but that one's not for sale. He did settle for another and it looks like it might go platinum. That's not only good for my reputation, but I get a small piece of the pie, which isn't all that small when you consider how many CDs are sold and the number of downloads.

All in all, life is not good, it's great. Cora and I love each other more and more every day and our careers just keep growing. We still get together with our friends and families and have the money to do a little traveling when we want to get away. Through it all, Cora and I have talked on several occasions about expanding our family. We've decided to flush her birth control pills down the toilet. If things go our way, we'll be parents within the next year, with two more young ones planned for the future. Life couldn't be better.

The end.